Mexico lifts meat import suspension from 20 plants

January 02, 2009

MILWAUKEE (AP) - Mexico has lifted the suspension on meat imports from 20 of the 30 processing plants it banned imports from last week, according to a list posted on the U.S. Department of Agriculture Web site. According to a list posted on the USDA's Web site on Tuesday, 20 of the plants are now eligible to export to Mexico products packed before Dec. 23 or after Dec. 26. The USDA last week said Mexico officials told them the country had concerns about the general condition of meat products, sanitation issues and ''possible pathogen findings.'' It was not immediately clear why Mexico reversed its decision. A message left at the USDA was not immediately returned Tuesday. The list of eligible plants now includes some of the nation's largest meat plants, including the world's largest pork slaughterhouse, operated by a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods Inc. in Tar Heel, N.C. Others include plants run by Cargill Inc., Tyson Foods Inc., and Swift Foods Inc., all big producers of beef, pork and chicken. The list includes plants in states including Illinois, Kansas, Iowa, Utah, Nebraska, Kentucky, Texas, Indiana, and Missouri. Mexico is a major buyer of U.S. meat, accounting for 40 percent of U.S. beef exports, according to Stephens Inc. analyst Farha Aslam. She said Mexico is the third-largest U.S. pork customer, accounting for 18 percent of exported volume. Suspensions in imports from 10 plants still remained in place Tuesday, according to the USDA Web site, including a Smithfield plant in Plant City, Fla., that processes pork, beef and poultry. There were also two John Morrell & Co. plants in Sioux Falls, S.D., and one in Sioux City, Iowa; a Cargill Meat Solutions plant in Ottumwa, Iowa; and a Tyson plant in Columbus Junction, Iowa. The remaining plants are run by smaller companies in Pennsylvania, Illinois, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Indiana. Representatives from Springdale, Ark.-based Tyson and Smithfield, Va.-based Smithfield Foods did not immediately return messages seeking comment. Aslam said her firm believes the suspensions ''will have little or no lasting impact on meat markets.'' Smithfield shares rose 42 cents, or 3.4 percent, to $12.69 in midday trading Tuesday, while shares of Tyson rose 47 cents, or 6 percent, to $8.32.